Paternal Bonds Shattered

Disclaimer: Do I need to say it? I don't own iCarly

A/N:

Chapter 20 (Hector's Idea)

Valerie took the plate she prepared for Sam and entered the basement, she knew Sam did need to have nourishment, as she was having that baby. Sam could smell the food, and cursed the fact that they would eat without letting her have anything at all. They hadn't broken her yet, and they knew it. She looked up as the door opened and winced as the light hit her, she had grown so accustomed to this dark basement, that the light was almost painful whenever she went into it.

"Valerie? What did they send you down here for now?" Sam asked in a slightly cynical voice. She didn't mean to be, but she was getting extremely emotional. She watched Valerie walk down the steps and her eyes slowly fell to the plate in her hand. "Food? You brought food?"

"It's for you, I made it." Valerie smiled as Sam's mouth began to water. She saw the steak, the first thing her eyes had fixated upon, and she wanted it so badly. "I think at least I convinced them to give you more than just meager scraps. You do get portion of breakfast, lunch and dinner."

"You know Valerie, you don't have to be nice to me." Sam frowned as Valerie shrugged her shoulders. She knew that Valerie's niceness was the reason that she was sharing in part of this hellhole with her. If she wasn't so nice, the guys wouldn't be hurting her as well. "You should toughen up a bit."

"I know, the guys already basically lectured me on that one." Sam raised her eyebrow as Valerie chuckled nervously. She had cut the steak into small pieces already, since it made it easier for Sam in this situation. She pushed the fork into the steak and brought it to Sam's mouth. "I know, you probably aren't going to be happy with being fed like this, but…"

"They told you not to let me loose, didn't they."

"I'm sorry, Sam."

"It's fine." Sam took a bite of the steak and grinned, she hadn't tasted steak this good in a long time. Plus, it was medium well, just the way she liked it! "Wow, you're a good cook Valerie. What are you doing wasting away here?" Valerie shrugged as she brought another piece of the steak to Sam's mouth. Sam quickly took it off the fork and chewed it slowly, taking in all of the juices and flavors. She closed her eyes and smiled softly. How perfect could things get? Well this by no means was perfect, but the food in itself was great. "Valerie, did Jeremy go through with his threat on your family?"

"Yeah…" Sam's face started to lose her color as she closed her eyes and sighed. She wasn't sure if they were alive or not, and if they weren't, she would probably attempt to kill Jeremy pretty soon. Valerie quickly continued, seeing the expression on Sam's face. She smiled and scooped up some of the mashed potatoes. "But don't worry, 'someone' saved them. All of them!" Sam smiled gently and took the bite of the potatoes.

"Good. Now what time can I be allowed off these chains?" Valerie shrugged and looked at her watch. It seemed like Sam could be allowed off in an hour or two. "About an hour, maybe two, I'm not sure…"

"Okay. Oh, and has Jeremy done anything more to you?"

"No."

"I'm glad."

"I'm not as concerned about myself as I am for you…" Sam shrugged her shoulders and sighed. The chains were bolted at the top of the wall, so it made her arms hang up. They were tired and strained. This just wasn't right for her to be treated like this. After a couple minutes, the food was all gone and the plate was clean. Valerie smiled and set the plate down, then wiped Sam's mouth with a napkin. "Did you like it?"

"Yes. You are a good cook, Valerie. I bet you'd make Jonah really happy with that cooking." Valerie blushed and placed her hands on her cheeks.

"Thanks…" Sam smirked slightly and started to say something else, but stopped when the door opened. The girls looked up as Jeremy appeared in the doorway. Valerie's eyes widened and she quickly backed up against the wall, a force of habit now whenever Jeremy came around her and nobody else was around for her. She had to get used to it, but he was so violent and so abusive.

"Valerie, Hector wants to talk to you," Jeremy issued while gesturing her to come upstairs. Valerie looked at Sam, who merely smiled weakly and nodded to her.

"When will I see you down here again?" Sam asked quietly. Jeremy heard this and rolled his eyes, then glared at Sam.

"It's getting to be too much of a privilege, letting you see Valerie often," Jeremy said as he crossed his arms. Sam and Valerie frowned and looked up at him. Would he restrict Valerie from seeing Sam? That wasn't right, he couldn't do that. Then again, he could do just about whatever he wanted to. "Now Valerie, get your little ass up here, I'm tired of waiting." Valerie stared at him and he rolled his eyes, knowing why she was hesitating. "If you don't hurry up here, I'm going to go down there and drag you up here." Just before he was about to make good of his promise, Gibby placed his hand on Jeremy's shoulder and smiled.

"Hey bud, you got Valerie up here yet?" Gibby asked. Jeremy growled as his eyes narrowed. Valerie smiled as Gibby looked to her and gestured her upstairs. "Come on, Hector's got something to tell you!" Valerie nodded and quickly hurried upstairs, brushing past Jeremy. Gibby looked at Jeremy and narrowed his eyes. "You want to take your anger out on something, don't take it out on her."

"Fuck you Gibby…" Gibby shrugged and turned away from Jeremy. Jeremy narrowed his eyes and stared downstairs, why was it Valerie got the good treatment all the time anyway? Why couldn't she be more like them? He growled and started heading downstairs, slowly closing the door as Sam screamed aloud. She had a feeling she was going to be beaten again. For what? What did she do?

"You wanted to talk to me, Hector?" Valerie asked with a smile. Hector was sitting in a recliner, with his fingers tapping the end table next to him. He nodded and looked up to Valerie who seemed to tower over him when standing.

"Gibby brought something up to me and I decided to call Victor up and see what he thought about it." Valerie nodded and gazed curiously at Gibby, who simply smiled at her. "Victor agreed to this. I've decided to send you through school and then pay for you to go to college, since you have that goal to be a chef. I think it's a good goal, and evidently, so does Gibby." Nevel peered over from the television, he frowned and raised his eyebrow. Wouldn't that put her in the position she could either talk or escape?

"Wait, what if she gets any ideas?" Nevel asked as he walked over, wanting to be a part of this discussion. Hector closed his eyes and lifted his hand up, he had already thought of that.

"Now this is what we talked to Victor about. The schools you will be sent to are the ones that he has control over. The teachers there, the staff and faculty, everybody is getting paid by him. They work for him. You can't tell anyone, because they're all being paid and again, they work for him. You can't escape, the doors are locked and you will be led in with someone." Valerie nodded in understanding, so she wouldn't be able to escape. But she was grateful enough for the opportunity to learn. "Does this sound good?"

"Yes!" Valerie exclaimed joyfully. "Do I get Home Ec classes?" Hector nodded his head and crossed his arms over. It seemed those classes were a given. Anything that dealt with cooking, it was clear she would want to take.

"Your classes will begin in a week. I suggest you prepare. Go to the store with Gibby, grab a backpack, supplies, anything you need for school. You may purchase a laptop, but as you know, there will be no internet access on any computer other than mine. If you wish to use the internet, you will have to ask me, and it will be supervised. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, get going." Hector took a large sum of money from his wallet and handed it to Valerie. "This is in addition to your weekly allowance, it is enough to buy school supplies and a laptop. Get yourself some computer games too if you wish, but I believe studying would be more of a priority."

"Yes sir, thank you. Out of curiosity, how many schools does Victor own?"

"He's a very rich man, that's all I'm saying." Valerie chuckled nervously and then tensed when she heard the basement door open up. She looked over to see Jeremy walking out, eyes closed. Valerie knew he must have beaten Sam, she closed her eyes and looked away, it was so hard to ignore. She wanted to run down and see if Sam was okay, but Hector had to stop her. "Let Sam be, she can't expect someone to be there every time…"

"But…"

"Valerie." Valerie looked at Hector's stern face and lowered her eyes. She knew better than to question him. Jeremy looked at her and breathed in. She could feel his glare upon her, she just wanted to go away from him.

"I'm sorry sir…" Gibby sighed and placed his hand on Valerie's back.

"Come on Val, let's get your school stuff," Gibby said while walking her to the door. Valerie took one last glance at the basement door and closed her eyes, a tear escaped down her cheek as she and Gibby left the house. "Look at it this way Valerie, at least this way you won't have to be around Jeremy and the others constantly."

"You asked Hector to consider this for me?"

"Yes." Valerie smiled at him and looked away, she was grateful for that. The only question was, when would she ever be able to use whatever schooling she learned? If they were trapped there until their dying day, then how the hell could they possibly use anything? "Now you'll have to remember, Hector will move us around periodically. That means you may end up having a number of schools."

"Well that's going to get confusing, but I understand."

"You won't try to run, will you? If we do this for you…"

"No, I promise I won't." Besides, someone had to be there for Sam in this world of hell where everybody was a devil to her. Gibby was there for her, so why shouldn't she be the one there for Sam?

"Okay, good. Now, what do you think we'll need for your school?" She had a desk, but there was a large computer on it that was strictly used for monitoring the surveillance cameras, so she would need a new desk. She would need a lamp, and she would take Hector's suggestion for a laptop. She would need a binder, she'd need papers, folders, pens, and basically, a various assortment of items.

"A lot…" Gibby chuckled and nodded his head as they headed for the nearest Wal-Mart. "What about you? Are you going to continue any schooling?"

"No…" Gibby frowned and slowly closed his eyes. He had a feeling that he probably would die for his crimes. He lusted for that power too much, he couldn't stop being a part of the group that tortured Sam. After all Sam had done to him, he felt she deserved a little torture here and there. He actually had a dream of being killed, specifically by Carly, oddly enough. He looked much older in appearance, maybe in his twenties, and Carly came in and killed him. It seemed so real, felt so real. "I don't think I'll ever have any use for it." No, he just didn't think he was going to live long enough to be anything. His life had ended just as much as Nevel's and Jeremy's when they joined with Hector. Valerie was the only one that still had a chance. Jonah and Freddie were still out there, they were still looking, and no matter how much Hector and Victor covered their tracks, the men would find them one day. When that day came, Gibby could feel it, all hell would break loose. The girls would be freed.

Hope you liked the chapter penny.